


All She Wants to Give Him

by acuteneurosis



Series: All They Have [2]
Category: Skip Beat!
Genre: Best Friends, Birthday Presents, F/M, Happy Birthday, Mutual Pining, One-Sided Attraction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-05
Updated: 2011-02-10
Packaged: 2019-10-01 21:09:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17251448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acuteneurosis/pseuds/acuteneurosis
Summary: Following "All He Wants for Christmas." It's Ren's birthday, and Kyoko is looking for a gift as amazing as the one Ren gave her. But things get complicated when she asks for Kanae's advice.





	1. Clash of Ideals

"WHAT AM I GOING TO DOOOOOOOOO?" Kyoko wailed as she threw herself forward on the table in the LoveMe room. Kanae covered her ears and sat with a distinct grimace on her face, trying to block out the unceasing wails of her best friend.

"Mo, would you pull yourself together! It's just a birthday present!"

Kyoko's sobs turned into sniffs as she looked up.

"But Moko-saaaaan! It's for Tsuruga-san's birthday! I ruined last year by getting the date wrong, I only have five more days, and _he_ gave _me_ a great birthday present."

"So you've said," Kanae grumbled, remembering putting the ridiculously huge puzzle together with Kyoko twice in the past month. Two whole evenings that were supposed to be just Kanae and her best friend had been interrupted by enthusiastic recounts of the wonderful, thoughtful, spectacular senpai.

"I know I don't have much money, and I really haven't had time to save since it's so soon after Christmas. But he said that my present then was so thoughtful, and I _have_ to get him something nice this time."

"You could just kiss him again," Kanae growled in frustration. She instantly regretted saying it when Kyoko turned deathly white then flaming red and looked to be on the verge of tears.

"I- Oh Moko-san I couldn't. I shouldn't have done it that time, really, I don't know what I was thinking, oh please don't say that!"

"Mo!" Kanae cut off her friend with a grimace and apologized. It had taken two full hours to extract from Kyoko an event which had lasted only two seconds, and when Kyoko had admitted to the kiss, it had been with passionate regret.

" _I shouldn't have done that to him. He was so nice to me all day, and he didn't even mention it after that. Not once. He still hasn't. He must be so angry!"_

" _Has he acted angry?"_

" _No… but how could he not be? He had already kissed me on the cheek for the mistletoe and then…"_

Kanae was still willing to bet the older man's reluctance to mention the kiss was more due to his awareness of Kyoko's conservative nature and not wanting her to feel embarrassed about what had happened. But the hardest part of all of this was Kanae's wavering between telling Kyoko that Tsuruga Ren had probably liked being kissed by her or not telling the love idiot. On the one hand, she had no desire to bring Tsuruga Ren any closer to her best friend. On the other hand, Kyoko might be in danger if someone did not point out to her the actor's feelings.

"She wouldn't believe it anyway," Kanae grumbled under her breath.

"Who wouldn't believe what?" Kyoko asked, staring at her friend, still worried. Kanae sighed.

"It doesn't matter. You want to get your illustrious senpai something great for his birthday right?" Kyoko nodded vigorously. "Then why don't you just ask him what he wants?"

"Well, I tried asking Yashiro, because I'd like it to be a surprise, but he said that there wasn't anything he thought Ren really wanted, at least not that I could buy. I can't decide if that means he just doesn't want anything, or if it just costs too much…"

"Definitely costs to much," Kanae snapped as she thought of all the things that the stupid actor might want from Kyoko. Kanae's friend drooped.

"Oh," her defeated voice cutting LoveMe number two deeply.

"Look, just ask him for ideas. You can still change them, or do something special to make it a surprise."

"Oh. That's a great idea!" Kyoko squealed as she grabbed her friend in a choking embrace.

"Gah! Be careful!" But Kyoko was too excited to stop.

* * *

That evening found Kyoko waiting anxiously in the parking garage under LME with Kanae for her senpai. She had been told by Yashiro that they would be ending the day at the office, and since she did not feel comfortable asking Ren to come and see her for something so silly, Kyoko decided it was best to wait for him to head home.

Ren had been told earlier by his manager that Yashiro was going to take a taxi home since he had some extra paperwork that he had to finish. Ren suspected he was being set up for something and was not surprised to see Kyoko at his car when he came downstairs. He was, however, surprised to be met with a heated glare from Kotonami Kanae.

"Mogami-san, Kotonami-san, good evening. Is there something wrong?"

"Oh no," Kyoko hastened to reassure him. She bowed deeply with made Kanae's scowl deepen. "Good evening Tsuruga-san."

"Tsuruga-san," Kanae nodded by way of greeting, her voice cold. Kyoko looked worriedly at her friend, but Kanae flapped a hand at her friend to tell her to hurry up.

"Did you and Kotonami-san need a ride, Mogami-san?" Ren asked, trying to restart the conversation and distract Kyoko from her obvious concern over her friend. Ren had an uneasy feeling he knew why he was being treated with so much hostility, and nothing he or Kyoko did was going to fix it.

"Oh, no, not that either. I'm terribly sorry to delay you, Tsuruga-san, but I had a question for you. Moko-san stayed to walk me partway home."

"Oh, I see. Well, if you do have a question for me, I don't mind answering, but since it is so late, why don't I give you both a ride? Then we can talk, and neither of you have to worry about getting home."

"Oh, we really couldn't impo-"

"As long as you drop off Kyoko first," Kanae interrupted. Ren and Kyoko both turned to look at her in surprise. "You said you had homework, you dope. You were all worried about finishing it and getting enough sleep for some sort of test tomorrow. This way you get home safe, and you can get your homework done on time. It's not like you can't talk in the car."

Kyoko acknowledged this and Ren graciously accepted Kanae's ultimatum. But he did insist on her sitting in the back, since he would be talking with Kyoko and she would be getting out first. Kyoko did not want to force this on her friend, but Kanae was not about to lose to this smiling gentleman by not being obliging.

"So, Mogami-san," Ren asked once they had started driving, "what was your question?"

"Oh. I was just wondering if there was anything in particular that you wanted for your birthday."

Kanae, watching Japan's Number One Actor carefully was able to read, " _You,"_ written all over the man's face, but Ren did not actually answer right away.

"I can't say that I have been wanting any _thing_ in particular. I've been enjoying your Christmas present, but I can't think that that is particularly helpful in you trying to pick out something new."

"Not really," Kyoko agreed with a grin, catching the Cain-like teasing tone in his voice.

"No, not really. But you don't have to worry about it, Mogami-san. I would be perfectly happy to accept any gift from you, but you shouldn't feel obligated to get me anything if it is going to be troublesome."

"But you said it was normal for people to give both a Christmas gift and a birthday gift to someone, _and_ you said you were going to keep getting me two presents, even though my birthday was on Christmas. So if I don't get you a birthday gift, I can't accept one from you."

"I think we can address that when it happens," Ren stated mildly.

"That's just your way of saying you're going to trick me into accepting another gift," Kyoko retorted, something dangerously close to a pout on her face. In the back, Kanae tried to suppress a series of growls at the intimate and frivolous nature of this conversation.

"You can't know that," Ren responded, turning to look at his kohai as he stopped at a red light.

"You were already prepping that evil, horrible, manipulative, absolutely sinful face when you said that," she told him. Kanae frowned as she wondered what kind of face Tsuruga Ren could have made to make her best friend speak about it in such a way.

"My face," Ren declared as the light turned green and he started forward, "is _not_ sinful."

"Oh yes it is," Kyoko grumbled, staring back out the windshield and blushing slightly. Kanae was the only one who noticed the slight coloration, and it did not please her at all.

"So you aren't going to help her out?" the raven-haired protector demanded, reminding Ren and Kyoko that they had an audience.

"Ah, sorry, Mogami-san. I didn't mean to tangent so much."

"No, no! It was my fault!'

"No, it wasn't. But in any event, I have to apologize. I can't really think of anything that I want in particular for my birthday. If you really feel that you have to get me something, I hope that you won't worry about it too much. You know enough to not get me something that I don't want at the very least. And, like I already said, I would be perfectly happy to accept any gift from you."

Kanae wondered how her friend could be so blind to the obvious interest Japan's Number One Bachelor had for LME's Number One LoveMe Girl.

Kyoko was silent for a minute, pondering the lack of help her senpai had given her. After a few minutes, she spoke.

"Would you… I really meant for it to be a surprise, but would you mind if I just came over and made dinner for you? Since I can't think of anything to get you?"

"On my birthday?" Ren asked, and Kyoko nodded. "I get done early with work on the tenth, so that should be fine."

He had no idea if this was actually true, but since his manager was always willing to move heaven and earth to give Ren as little as two minutes with the girl he loved, he figured Yashiro would be willing to help him with this.

"That would be a great idea, if you weren't already spending the night at my house, Mogami Kyoko. Or were you just planning on ditching me?"

Kyoko was so overcome with horror at the thought that Kanae would think she was abandoning her friend that she began to profusely apologize to both people in the car, the thought never crossing her mind that she had not actually made plans to spend the evening with Kanae before this.

But Ren was suspicious of the sudden attack from the back seat. Kyoko had always told him about the rare and valuable occasions when her precious Moko-san had invited Kyoko over to her house. He had spoken to Kyoko only yesterday, finding her having a conversation with his manager, and Kyoko had not mentioned the happy news.

"If you're going to be at Kotonami-san's house, I understand that you can't make dinner for me," Ren told her kindly, trying to suppress the building jealousy and resentment that LoveMe number two was eliciting from him.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to make plans and not follow through! If Moko-san hadn't reminded me-" her she paused, tilting her head in confusion. "Moko-san, when-"

"Mo, if you're always going into La-La Land when I invite you over, I'm surprised that you can ever remember when we make plans."

"Did I- Did I really forget?" Kyoko asked, agonized as she turned to look at her best friend. Kanae felt a twitch of guilt, but nodded firmly. No way was she handing Kyoko over to this man for an evening alone in his apartment. Kyoko might not realize the danger, but Kanae was fully alive to what might happen to her friend.

"Looks like you did. Good thing I reminded you."

"Oh Moko-san, I'm _so_ sorry!"

"Enough! Don't start crying again, I know you're sorry!" She tried to soften her voice as tears began to creep into Kyoko's eyes. "I'm not angry anymore. You already apologized. But you'll just have to think of something else to give Tsuruga-san."

Kyoko frowned as she realized that she still did have that daunting task ahead of her. She was silent for the rest of the short drive, and was distracted enough that she forgot to bow as she thanked her senpai for the ride and bade Kanae goodnight.

"Where to now?" Ren asked as he pulled away from the curb. Kanae noted the sudden drop in temperature in the vehicle and gave her directions in the most threatening voice she could muster.

They drove in silence for several minutes before Ren spoke, his voice cold.

"Can I ask what on earth I've done to offend you, Kotonami-san? Because unless I have really misunderstood you, I'm figuring as a pretty hideous ogre in your head right now, and I can't think of what I've done to deserve it."

"You aren't careful with her," Kanae declared, seeing no need to clarify who she was speaking about. Ren, whose face had been carefully passive, frowned.

"That is where you are very wrong, Kotonami-san. I have been extremely careful with Mogami-san." Kanae laughed.

"Right, which is why she's deluded herself into thinking it isn't a big deal to go and hang out at your apartment and cook you dinner. Never mind what the press would do to you over it, but what they would do to her…"

Kanae was much more worried about the actor would do to her friend, but she had the satisfaction of seeing him grimace as she detailed these consequences.

"I'm aware of the possible trouble that might arise," he responded coolly. "I've dealt with this before."

"Yeah, I'm sure you've dealt with all of your wonderful girlfriends coming and hanging out at your apartment before. I'm sure you perfected your sneaky little rendezvous since no one's ever had a shred of gossip to toss around about you. But those girls weren't Kyoko!"

Actually, since Ren had been referring to the other times that Kyoko had visited his apartment, the only girl he could possibly have been talking about was Kyoko. But he resented Kanae's depiction of his supposed lifestyle and was not willing to share Kyoko's other visits with the angry demon in the back.

"I respect that you want to protect your friend," he told her, working to moderate his voice. "It's fair that you are looking out for her, since she isn't always aware of herself."

"Or how much other people are aware of her," Kanae added suggestively. But Ren refused to rise to the bait. He needed to step carefully where it concerned Kyoko's best friend, and the truth was Kanae was perfectly right to worry about Kyoko.

"Or that. Fuwa Sho, for instance, seems to have revised his opinion of her. And she nearly sparked Kijima Hidehito's interest when she showed up on the Dark Moon set as Natsu last year. It isn't good for her to be so unaware, and it's good that you are looking after her."

"Hnn," Kanae replied, frustrated at his composure.

"But be that as it may, it does not explain how _I_ have offended _you_."

"I told you, you aren't careful with her! You hang around her all the time when you work together, you're always visiting the LoveMe room, and you give her rides even when you aren't working together. It's a miracle no one's labeled you as a couple!"

There was a short pause.

"Have you told Mogami-san about these concerns?"

"Of course!" Another pause.

"And what did she tell you?"

"That it was stupid. That no one would ever suspect a girl like _her_ of actually dating a man like _you!_ And other stupid things like that."

"That certainly sounds like something that she would say."

"Of course it does. She doesn't think herself good enough for a dog, and seems to have deluded herself into thinking that no one else does either. So she isn't careful, and you aren't helping."

"Have you ever considered that she might be right?"

"How _dare_ -"

"About how people think, not about whether they are right. Because they aren't."

"Oh, because that's going to be enough to protect her?"

"It might be."

"How-"

" _And_ …" Ren interrupted again, "do you seriously believe that the president, who has an extraordinarily large amount of love and respect for all of his LoveMe members, is not keeping a very close eye on what is being said about them, and dealing with the people that might be endangering them?"

It was Kanae's turn to pause.

"He's talked to you?"

"Yes, he has. But he has also caused no small amount of trouble of his own for Kyoko and for myself, probably in the realm of what you would not consider good for her. He has his own idea of what pushing the limit is.It might not agree with yours."

"The Dangerous Mission," Kanae whispered.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Last year's nightmare LoveMe project from the president, right after Valentine's Day. Kyoko was assigned a 'Dangerous Mission" and told Chiori and I that she couldn't talk about it."

"I was never told about a 'Dangerous Mission,'" Ren said carefully, "but if Mogami-san couldn't talk about it, I imagine she had her reasons." Kanae shot him a vicious look. "And I also imagine the president, as dangerous as his assignment might have been, was looking out for Mogami-san." _Not as much as he should have been, but…_

"She never told you about it?" Kanae asked suspiciously.

"I knew that she had an ongoing assignment, but I was never told that it was called her 'Dangerous Mission.'" _Although the name was very appropriate._

"Would you have stopped her if you knew that it was?" Ren hesitated, but Kanae did not notice anything strange.

"No. I would not have been able to stop her.I… couldn't have done anything to help."

"And that makes it okay? That she doesn't think about the danger? That she doesn't know how much people worry about her? That makes it right?"

"No, Kotonami-san. It doesn't make anything right. Not what I do and don't do, and not what you do, or don't do."

Kane grunted in frustrated agreement, and was silent. Ren waited for a few moments, but the satisfaction of having silenced the girl encouraged him enough that he decided to elaborate.

"It's why I rely on the president and what he says. He's been around a lot longer, has a better understanding of people, and knows how to protect the people he cares about. You can care about Kyoko as much as you want and force her in or out of situations that you chose by manipulating her, but that does not make you right. The same goes for me."

Kanae glared at Ren, but continued to be mute for the rest of the drive and was still not satisfied. If she had anything to say about it, Kyoko was going to stay away from this man. He was not safe.

She was dropped off and Ren headed back to his own apartment, exhausted by what had been a very trying evening. He knew he was going to have trouble if he was at odds with Kyoko's best friend, but he was not sure how to deal with the cold and protective girl.

Not that he really felt she needed to worry. Ever since Christmas, Ren's delusions of having made some progress with the girl that he loved had more or less disappeared. She might be more comfortable with her senpai, but that was still all he was.

And all he was ever likely to be.


	2. Breaking Promise

Kyoko was in the LoveMe room again, sitting quietly today, her chin propped on her hands, her eyes glazed over. Kanae was sure that her friend was deep in thought, but also figured that she was thinking about what to get her precious senpai, and so did not interrupt when Chiori went to get Kyoko's attention.

"Earth to Kyoko-san. You still with us?" LoveMe number three shook Kyoko's shoulder and the girl snapped out of her daze.

"Oh, Amamiya-san.Ah, MOKO-SAN!" She jumped out of her chair to tackle the taller girl. "Did you make it home alright? Did Tsuruga-san say anything about your house? I know you hate people seeing it. Did you have him drop you off at the convenience store instead? He didn't get lost did he? Sometimes he's just so careless."

Kanae detached Kyoko, torn between joy at the warm welcome and obvious concern of her friend and anger that somehow that man had wormed his way into the conversation… again.

"Mo, I got home fine. I had him drop me off at the store so that I could pick up snacks. He wanted to wait for me to finish and take me all the way home, but I pointed out he didn't drop you off at your front door. That made him angry, I think," she said with a small smile. Kyoko frowned suddenly, and both of the other LoveMe members froze as their friend became a black hole of gloom and worry.

"Moko-san, do you… hate Tsuruga-san?"

"It isn't that," Kanae stated as flippantly as she could, waving her hand to try and fan away the dark aura. "I just don't trust him."

The darkness did not disperse, but seemed to grow.

"You don't trust him?" Kanae became defensive.

"What does it matter? He's your senpai more than mine. I've never worked with him."

"But… if Moko-san doesn't trust him, you have a reason, don't you?"

Kanae looked to Chiori for help, but the other girl only raised a brow. She was not getting into the middle of this.

"He's… too nice. Haven't you noticed? He never messes up. That isn't normal."

The aura lessened, but Kanae sensed all was still not well with her friend.

"I see. That… can be confusing. Especially his gentlemanly smile," Kyoko noted grimly. "That isn't safe at all."

Kanae watched as her friend shook her head and looked up into Kanae's eyes. Her gaze was a worried question.

"I don't know what else to tell you," Kanae stated. "I don't really trust him, but you're the one that knows him."

"Do you think you would trust him if you knew him better?"

"I don't want to know him better," Kanae said flatly. "He's trouble. He's the top of the acting and modeling world. Getting to know him better would only cause problems."

Kyoko thought about this and frowned.

"Would people… think you were dating him? If they saw you together?"

"How would I know?"

"Probably," Chiori commented. "Since Kanae is a similar style to Tsuruga-san. Mature and professional. People would probably say that they suit." Kanae made a face at the thought and Kyoko's shoulders drooped.

"Would it really be a problem?" she asked her friend, clearly worried.

"It doesn't matter," Kanae said as calmly as she could. "He doesn't visit me, and he only comes down here to see you. Though he really does haunt this place," she added with a grumble.

Kyoko's worried looked increased, but before she could say anything there was a knock on the door. It opened to reveal the topic of discussion and his manager.

"Good morning, Kotonami-san, Mogami-san, Amiyama-san. Mogami-san, I have something you left-"

"Oh, I'm sorry," she interrupted as she stepped forward and practically shoved him out the door and almost onto Yashiro-san. "Here, why don't I go with you so that they can keep talking."

She did not wait for his reply, but yanked the door shut behind her, stunning everyone else. Once the door was closed she let out a sigh and bowed deeply.

"I'm very sorry! That was very rude of me!"

"It was unusual," Ren admitted. "Is there a problem?" Kyoko was instantly in a flutter trying to reassure him.

"You know, Kyoko-chan," Yashiro commented, "I think the nicest thing about you is that you are physically incapable of telling a good lie."

Kyoko stopped and look between him and Ren in horror. Ren was not angry, but he glanced at the LoveMe door with a look of exasperation. Kyoko was instantly worried, and when he saw her face he tried to smile reassuringly.

"Did Kotonami-san say something about last night?" Kyoko was silent and Ren was frustrated. "Mogami-san, did Kotonami-san say something about me?"

"Yes," Kyoko whispered.

"What did she say?" Kyoko looked up and down the hall worriedly. Ren noticed her concern and turned to Yashiro.

"Do you have an errand that Mogami-san could run? It might be easier if we talked in your office."

"Oh, of course. As long as you don't mind," Yashiro asked Kyoko.

"Oh no. That would be just fine."

* * *

Back in the room Kanae was still recovering from her friend's hurried exit. Chiori had taken a seat at the table, a look of amusement on her face.

"You really messed that up," she said lazily, watching LoveMe number two turn as if to follow her friend.

"I don't need your opinion," Kanae snapped, but Chiori was unfazed. She was used to Kanae's over protective responses to anything concerning Kyoko. Chiori suspected the long haired girl had never really recovered from Kyoko's revelation of what had happened during the Christmas assignment.

"Yes you do. You're doing it again, butting into business of hers that isn't business of yours. I tried to tell you in December, but you weren't listening then, and I don't think you're listening now."

"What made you the expert?" Kanae demanded, still half turned as if to leave.

"You did. We're friends too you know, even though you like her better." Kanae looked guilty and Chiori shrugged.

"It's just the truth. I like her better too. I think most people do. That's part of the reason we like her at all. Because she's good at what she does and she didn't give up as much as we did to get that good. She's kind of like a beacon of hope. Maybe we can be normal again someday."

"She isn't normal," Kanae retorted as she slid into a chair across from her friend.

"No, not completely. But I think you need to adjust to the fact that she is more normal than she admits."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"She likes people, Kanae. You and me, certainly, but she has lots and lots and lots of friends. You're going to really hurt her feelings if you aren't careful with what you say about her other friends."

"You want me to be dishonest?"

"No, that won't solve any problems. But you might want to deal with this whole 'jealous of Tsuruga Ren' thing. If she didn't just shove him out of the room because she's worried about your reputation if he keeps being seen down here, then she's already figured out the real reason why you can't stand him and she just chose him over you."

Kanae went white with fury.

"She just-"

"Would you please think about what just happened? Please?"

Kanae took a deep breath and released it.

"You're right, it was probably for me."

"Which meant that what really just happened was Kyoko just chose protecting your career over looking good in front of her senpai. You might want to think about that too."

Kanae grimaced.

"I'll talk to her."

* * *

Meanwhile, the trio had almost reached Yashiro's office and the manager was explaining to Kyoko that it might take him a minute to find the document. Kyoko cheerfully responded that she did not mind waiting, she had no other work just then. Ren reminded them both he needed to leave in the next twenty minutes, or he would be late for his next job as he closed the office door behind them.

"Now, Mogami-san, what did Kotonami-san say about last night?"

Yashiro absently shuffled papers at his desk, but was listening keenly to the conversation. Ren had failed to mention the other LoveMe member's involvement when he had confirmed to Yashiro that he had driven Kyoko home.

"It wasn't about last night really, although she mentioned that she had made you angry and she seemed to like that, so I asked her if… if she didn't like you very much."

"She told you she hated me?"

"No, she just said she didn't trust you. If she was seen with you too much it was more likely that people would say things about the two of you than people ever saying anything about me. And she said that you came down to the LoveMe room all the time. Right before you walked in," Kyoko told him sheepishly.

"Ah, I see. That's why we left so quickly."

"I'm really sorry!" she said, trying to bow in the relatively small space. Ren grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back up.

"It's fine. You're being considerate of your friend, and you already apologized. I should apologize as well, for causing trouble."

"Oh no! You didn't cause any trouble. I didn't even think about it, and you always came down there for a good reason-"

Yashiro was unable to repress a snort at this. Ren rarely had a good reason for sneaking down to the LoveMe room aside from seeing if Kyoko was there. Ren glared at him, but Kyoko missed the sound.

"I should have been more careful, Mogami-san. For both you and your friends," Ren told her, trying to calm her down.

"Oh, not for me," she responded breezily. "No one would ever think that you came down there just to see me."

Yashiro made a choked gagging sound trying to hold in his laughter. Kyoko did hear this time and asked what was wrong.

"I… stubbed my toe," he told her, trying to keep a straight face. Kyoko gave him a confused looked but nodded at the explanation. Ren tried to hold his face together as the jab opened yet another hole in his heart and then twisted.

"In any case," he started, trying to bring the conversation back around, "I don't mean to be causing trouble for anyone." He paused for a moment, regarding Kyoko seriously. "Since you're worried about your friend, I'll stop coming by the LoveMe room. Please let Kotonami-san know that I am sorry for the trouble. Yashiro, you have that paper?"

He changed the subject so abruptly neither Kyoko or Yashiro had the chance to object. His manager held out the paper and Kyoko accepted it mutely, bowing to the two men and exiting in silence. Yashiro stared at his charge with mixed astonishment and horror.

"Ren, what did you just-"

"I didn't say I was going to stay away from her," Ren told his manager quietly. "But Kotonami-san isn't fond of me, and I don't want to cause even imaginary problems for Kyoko."

His use of her given name told Yashiro how much his charge was actually suffering from this new decision.

"I'll try and get a hold of her schedule and see what I can do for you," Yashiro said, clapping the actor on the shoulder. "But I don't think she really wanted you to do that," he added as he grabbed his bag and headed for the door.

Ren shrugged and followed the other man out.

* * *

Kyoko made her way back towards the LoveMe room in a daze. The office where she was supposed to drop off the paper was on the way, and she was glad for that. She needed to talk to her friends, now.

"What happened to you," Kanae demanded when Kyoko wandered in. Chiori frowned in concern. Kyoko gave them both a blank look.

"He said… he wouldn't come down anymore. Since it was a problem for Moko-san. He just… won't come."

Kanae and Chiori stared at her in shock.

"He really said that?" Kanae asked her friend.

"Yes." Kyoko's voice cracked. "What did I do? I didn't think he was that angry that I pushed him out, but now- Moko-san, if he still hasn't forgiven me for Christmas and he's angry again because I shoved him, and then I told him what we said, and now he… he…"

"Kyoko, calm down," Kanae urged. "He wasn't really angry at you-"

"Even after all the things that he's done to help me, I went and said something so selfish! And he just- Oh Moko-san, why am I such a horrible person!"

She wasn't crying, but both of the other girls could see that it would not be long before she was. Chiori gave Kanae a significant look and the other girl cringed. Apparently the consequences of her actions had already come back to bite her, as both Chiori and that man had warned.

Kanae hated being wrong.

"You're not a horrible person," she told Kyoko, hesitantly putting an arm around her shoulder. "He's just being a guy. They do stuff like that. Useless, probably trying to be noble or something stupid like that. If anything, he's proud of you and just doesn't want to cause problems."

"But-"

"No 'buts.' I'll talk to him. And before you start talking about all the trouble it'll cause, it isn't that big of a deal. You don't need to worry about that and neither does he," she grabbed Kyoko's handkerchief out of her hand and used it to dab her friend's eyes. "All you need to worry about is getting him the perfect present. And what you want to do at my house on the tenth."

These two sentences pulled Kyoko out of her slump and made her eyes shine.

"Oh, yes! Thank you Moko-san!" She yanked Kanae into another merciless hug and then dashed into the changing room for reasons unknown to either of her friends.

"Wow," Chiori said, looking over to the remaining LoveMe member who was gently rubbing her neck.

"No kidding. We really should be used to that by now."

"You're going to talk to him?"

"Yeah. If he doesn't haunt this place, he'll probably try and meet her other places. She didn't say he wasn't talking to her or anything like that, and she always takes what he says way too seriously. At least he can't hurt her while she's here. And it's no good if she's worried about him being angry."

"Because she's thinking about him?" Chiori asked, a sly smile in place.

"I wasn't talking to Yumika," Kanae growled as she turned to go and hunt down the last person on earth she wanted to see. Chiori shrugged and pulled out a script, deciding it would be good to get started on her own work.

* * *

Kyoko sat crouched in front of her locker, gnawing on the end of a pencil and staring at the short list in front of her. She wanted to give Ren something practical, since he had said at Christmas that he didn't care for things he didn't use.

Her list so far included _food, clothing,_ and _things to do while he travels._ The clothing had been cut because he had said that he already got plenty of name brand articles and she wasn't sure what she could get him that he might actually need. Food was a nice idea, but she was torn since she could not cook him dinner and did not trust him to make anything himself with things that she bought him. No, she definitely was not giving him something he had to cook himself.

No matter how hard she tried, she could not think of a single thing to get Ren that he could use on a trip. She had no idea what kind of books he might like, and nothing else reasonable came to mind.

Kyoko sighed in frustration. What was she going to get her senpai? Especially now that it had to be extra, _extra_ special to make up for all the trouble she had caused him these last two days.

* * *

Ren sighed as he looked at the miniature purse in his hand. He had not actually looked inside it, but he had a pretty good idea of what Kyoko kept in there. He had meant to return it to her when he first dropped by the LoveME room, but now…

"Yashiro, can you let me know right away when you figure out Kyoko's schedule. I really need to get this back to her."

His manager looked at the small object suspiciously, but nodded and promised that he would.

* * *

On the upper floors of the LME building, a storm was brewing. Lory had not held back on decorations or festive spirit as Valentine's Day had started to drift closer and closer. But anyone who knew him well had caught the sparkling gleam in his eye and knew that something even bigger was coming. They had stocked their desks with pain relievers and advised their workers to get everything they could done by the fourteenth. There was a huge possibility no one would be getting any work done that day. It was best to be ahead of the game.

Meanwhile, the president sat at his desk looking at a piece of paper in front of him and chuckled evilly. This was going to be a _glorious_ Valentine's Day...


	3. Friendly Competition

Kyoko was not getting any closer to an answer of what to get Ren for his birthday. He needed nothing he could not buy for himself (except a better understanding of what 'healthy living' meant, and she couldn't actually give him that, though not for lack of trying) and she did not feel comfortable delving into the realm of sentimental for her respected senpai. His apartment was bare of any kind of memorable decoration, in spite of the fact that she knew he had tokens from various awards tucked away somewhere.

Her gloomy feelings were repressed during her various jobs, but she could not help but let out an exhausted sigh as she finished changing out of her Bo costume. Her day had been depressing and she was starting to become upset.

With a sudden flash in inspiration, Kyoko dived into her bag and started scrambling for a small purse. She had taken to leaving her most precious gift inside her work bag, in case of emergencies. Even if he could not tell her what to get Tsuruga-san, Corn would at least make her feel better. That was certain.

Or he would have, if he had not been missing.

Fifteen minutes and a bag of items spilled across the floor later, Kyoko was feeling even worse than she had been before. She had lost her Corn purse, and since she had not checked on it since yesterday, it could be anywhere. As she repacked her bag, she tried to think of where she might have dropped it. She knew she walked to most of her jobs. The truth was she had probably dropped it along the way to one of the places she worked, and it could be long gone by now.

Somehow, she had lost her most precious possession in the world, she could not figure out what to get her senpai, her most precious possession in the world was lost, her best friend was not happy with her senpai, and her most precious possession in the world was lost. Lost, lost, lost lost lost...

She exited her dressing room draped in a cloud of misery, her eyes vacant.

"Kyoko-san, is something wrong," asked the ever concerned Ishibashi Hikaru. "You don't look so good."

"Oh, I'm fine," she tried to reassure him, smiling politely and bowing. "I'm sorry to worry you."

"Well, if you're sure you're alright," Hikaru responded, still uneasy about his crush's depressed countenance.

"Guy trouble!" Shinichi exclaimed happily. "Kyoko-chan has guy trouble!"

"Would you stop that," Yuusei commanded, with no real expectation of being obeyed. "Kyoko-san deserves better than your useless commentary."

"But I'm right!" Shinichi whined, wrapping an arm around Kyoko's shoulders and poking her cheek playfully. "See this face? It's screaming 'Boy Problem!'"

"You can't know that," Hikaru countered, tugging on his energetic friend to try and detach him from Kyoko.

"I wouldn't say 'guy trouble,'" Kyoko answered as she slipped out of Shinichi's hold. "But I do have a small problem." Her face lit up suddenly. They could not help her find Corn, but there might be one thing they could do for her. "Do you think you can help me?"

"Of course," Yuusei told her before Shinichi could make things worse. "What do you need?"

"Well, it's just a question really," Kyoko told them.

"Then why don't we discuss it over dinner," Hikaru suggested, taking advantage of the situation. Kyoko demurred slightly, but was overborne by a strangely considerate and clever Shinichi.

"You might be able to hold off on dinner, but we're starving," he told her. "We'll split your portion of the bill, so don't worry about it."

"Oh no, I couldn't possibly-"

"We're happy to help," Yuusei insisted.

"And if we're going to insist on eating, we should be paying," Hikaru added.

"Well, if you really think so-" Kyoko was cut off by all three of the boys telling her it was just fine and Hikaru grabbed her hand to drag her down the hallway.

"So," Yuusei stated as soon as they had found a quiet, almost empty restaurant and had placed their orders, "what's the problem?"

Kyoko was quiet for a moment, trying to think of what to say, and Hikaru spoke up.

"It's alright, Kyoko-san. We aren't going to tell anyone else."

"Oh, I wasn't worried about that," she told him with a bright smile. "I was just trying to figure out what to say. You see, it's a little complicated."

"How so?" Yuusei asked, making a face at Shinichi who was beginning to stuff his mouth full of a small plate of appetizers they had ordered.

"Well, I can't think of a gift to give one of my senpais from the company."

"For Valentine's Day?" Yuusei asked. Hikaru went white just before Kyoko's aura turned black.

"No. Not for _that_ day," she mumbled with no small amount of hostility. Just as the boys began to wonder if they were safe, the darkness cleared. "It's for a birthday."

"Oh" Hikaru said as he wondered who could be so lucky as to be getting a gift from Kyoko for such a special occasion.

"Food," Shinichi mumbled around his stuffed mouth. His friends gave him a disgusted look and Kyoko shook her head.

"He isn't fond of food, and he _really_ can't cook," she told them solemnly.

"Clothes?" Yuusei suggested.

"No, he doesn't need anything like that. He has plenty to wear, and I can't really afford to buy him anything nice right now. And it isn't like he could actually use anything I might make for him, since he's always in public or on television. It wouldn't be right."

"Does it… have to be something special?" Hikaru asked tentatively. Kyoko sighed.

"Well, I don't think he'll really care if I just get him something boring, but I wanted it to be nice. He gave me a really special present on my birthday, and I wanted to thank him for it."

"Was it expensive?" Yuusei asked, trying to get an idea of what she was looking for. She frowned.

"The birthday gift wasn't too expensive," she replied. "But I really liked it." Seeing the boys' interest, she smiled. "It was a puzzle. The picture was of a little girl holding a fairy prince. It was… very nice." The warm glow on her face told all three boys just how much she had loved the gift. Hikaru winced slightly and Yuusei patted his shoulder reassuringly.

They were interrupted as their food arrived and it took them a minute to settle down.

"It seems like he got you a very thoughtful gift," Yuusei said ponderously. "So… wouldn't it be a good idea to do the same kind of thing?"

"He isn't very sentimental," she told them. "And he's my senpai."

"But… you know each other fairly well, right?" Hikaru asked. "That's why he knew you would like the puzzle so much?"

"Well, yes."

"Wouldn't that make you more like friends?" Shinichi asked around another mouthful of food.

"Oh no!" she instantly protested. "Tsuruga-san hasn't ever said-"

"Tsuruga-san?" Hikaru interrupted. "You're trying to get a gift for Tsuruga Ren?"

Kyoko nodded mutely, suddenly uncomfortable. Hikaru tried to control his face, but he felt hurt, almost betrayed. Kyoko was getting a birthday gift for Tsuruga Ren. Tsuruga Ren had gotten Kyoko a special present for her birthday. Yuusei, noticing his friend's plight, intervened.

"I see. It must be hard to buy a gift for the man who's at the top of the entertainment industry. He probably gets lots of nice things from lots of people, but doesn't really need anything."

"Yes."

"Have you gotten anything for him before?"

"Yes. I got him something small last year. But… the puzzle was just so… thoughtful. I didn't think it was fair to him to just get something silly."

"You're very conscientious," Yuusei told her, smiling kindly. She relaxed a little.

"It seems kind of like-" Hikaru spoke up at last, "Like he wouldn't mind if you got him a sentimental gift." Yuusei and Shinichi stared at their leader in surprise. He gulped and continued as Kyoko gave him a confused look. "You've known Tsuruga-san for a long time. You worked together on _Dark Moon_. He gave you a really thoughtful Christmas gift. Even if he hasn't said that you are friends, I don't think he would mind if you did something… silly. He might even like it. That's what friends do for each other, after all."

Kyoko thought about this carefully while the other two members of Bridge Rock looked at their leader with new respect.

Dinner finished without further mention of the gift, and everyone had a good time. Shinichi took it upon himself to see that the company was laughing when they left the restaurant, and Kyoko was dropped off at LME so that she could pick up some things she had left there earlier.

As the boys left her, Shinichi slung an arm over Hikaru's shoulder.

"What prompted that?" he demanded in a teasing tone.

"Prompted what?"

"Your little push for Tsuruga Ren. Sounds like a dangerous guy to encourage her to be close to."

"She needed help," Hikaru stated, turning pink.

"So, you're not giving up?" Yuusei asked. Hikaru shook his head.

"She needed help with her Tsuruga problem, but what I said applies to us too," he pointed out.

"And for all his missing inches, our leader's got a big heart," Shinichi added with a smile. Hikaru laughed and shoved his companion.

"Let's hope she doesn't break it," Yuusei mumbled under his breath.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kyoko was walking down the hall in a shadow of gloom again. The Ishibashi brothers had given her a hint of what she could do about Ren's present, but Corn was still missing. Probably gone forever and ever. Gone, gone, gone, gone...

She entered the LoveMe room to find Ren waiting there, without his manager again.

"Tsuruga-san! I'm sorry, did you need something?"

"I was waiting for you," he told her, smiling in what he hoped was a reassuring manner, noticing that she seemed unusually upset.

"Oh no. You didn't wait long, did you? I'm so sorr-"

Ren stood and caught her forehead before she could finish her bow.

"You didn't know I was coming and I knew that you wouldn't be back till late," he told her. He did not admit that Kanae had told him Kyoko should have been back almost an hour ago and he had been worrying about whether he should go and look for her. But he had not known where she was coming from, so he had just waited and worried.

"Still, if you stayed this long, you must have had a reason," she replied, clearly still concerned. Then something else dawned on her. "Did you talk to Moko-san?"

Ren's thoughts drifted back to a conversation that had been thrust on him as he had tried to leave for his first job earlier than morning.

" _Oi, you," had come an imperative call from the entrance to the parking garage. Ren had turned to see an enraged Kotonami Kanae coming up to him._

" _Something wrong, Kotonami-san?"_

" _You just hurt my best friend's feelings," she told him directly. "I had to practically bribe her out of thinking she was a useless idiot… again." Ren sighed._

" _I didn't mean to hurt her feelings," he told Kanae. "But I'm more than convinced I should not be coming down to the LoveMe room and worrying her about running into you. And that was the idea that you put into her head," he added coldly. "I'll talk to her soon. I still wasn't able to give her something she left in my car last night."_

" _I'll probably see her before you will," Kanae said, holding out her hand, but Ren shook his head._

" _I'll give it to her myself," he told the girl, no compromise in his tone. Kanae paused and glared at the actor. Then she caved._

" _I told her I would talk to you," she admitted. "We both know there isn't any reason for you to stay away-"_

" _I have no interest in getting in a fight for Mogami-san's attention. There is no point in me visiting the LoveMe room if I am invading your space," he told her flat out. Kanae glared, but pushed on._

" _There isn't any reason for you to stay away, and I'm old enough to know not to cause problems and put Kyoko in the middle of them." Ren raised an eyebrow and Kanae's glare deepened._

" _Is that so?"_

" _You don't have to believe me," she snapped. "But I'm not going to stop her from seeing you or anything. I'm not that petty." She turned to go then, but then stopped and faced him once more. She informed Ren in the most magnanimous tone when Kyoko would be in the LoveMe room next, and then added that if he let her walk home alone she would make him sorry. Ren grinned and turned to get into his car. Yashiro looked between the two people in confusion, but followed his charge._

"I spoke to Kotonami-san," he told her as casually as he could. "She clarified her concerns and we agreed that I didn't need to avoid coming here. Which is good, because I still need to give you something you left in my car last night."

"Give me something?"

"I tried to tell you this morning. It was the reason why I came down in the first place. No, don't," he told her as she tried to go into another bow and apology. "I understand, and if I let you we could be here all night trading apologies. It's fine. I'm more worried about giving this back to you," he said as he reached a hand into his pocket.

Kyoko's eyes widened and her breath caught as she noticed the small purse sitting in his palm. It could not be...

"I left it in your car?" she asked as she reached out and took it, holding it lovingly.

"Yes. I think it might have fallen out of your bag while we were driving." He paused as she wrapped her mind around what had happened; that she actually had her treasure back. "It's your Corn stone, isn't it?"

Kyoko looked up in surprise.

"You didn't look at it? How did you guess?"

"Well, the purse couldn't really have been anyone's but yours. Yashiro and Kotonami-san aren't likely to carry something like that around. And I thought it was about the right size for your stone."

"Oh," Kyoko replied as she stroked the trinket carefully, barely contained euphoria threatening to jump out and strangle her senpai in a hug. "Thank you so much!"

"It wasn't a problem. I was sure you wanted it back. And Kotonami-san mentioned you would be here late tonight. I figured it was practically a sign that I should be giving you a ride home."

Kyoko met his eyes at that, switching immediately from joy to consternation.

"Oh no- You really don't have too! I wouldn't dream of imposing, especially now that you've stayed so late-"

"Except that as a gentleman, I couldn't possibly leave you to walk home on your own at this point. Would it really be so terrible?"

"It's not terrible, but I couldn't-"

"Then should I ask Setsu?" Ren whispered, a touch of Cain leaking into his manner. If she really pushed him, he would utilize "the face," but he wanted to save it for special occasions. It would not do to wear out its perfect effect on this girl.

Kyoko could not help but respond to the teasing tone in his voice. He used it less and less as they moved away from their time together as the siblings, and she found that she enjoyed it too much to let it go, in spite of the fact that it seemed to put her so perfectly into the palm of her senpai's hand.

"I'll go with you," she sighed, looking up at him through her lashes. "But only if you _insist_."

Ren/Cain, smiled in turn and grasped her elbow gently, steering her towards the door.

"Yes, I do."

Kyoko/Setsu giggled once, but then Kyoko pushed the sister figure back and pulled her elbow away slowly.

"Alright. Thank you for the ride, Tsuruga-san."

"You're welcome," he told her, letting the banter go as easily as it had come. It was better if they did not act like Cain and Setsu in the middle of LME, truth be told. But he did miss it. Not the brother stigma, but the closeness. And being allowed to spoil her. He really missed that.

When they got into his car, Kyoko slid the Corn wallet into her bag, placing it carefully so it would not fall out. Then she settled the bag more comfortably on her lap so that there was no chance of it falling over.

"Being careful?" Ren teased, but it was nice enough that Kyoko only smiled.

"It would be bad if I left it behind again. I'm surprised that you noticed it."

"The wallet is much more colorful than the floor of my car," he pointed out.

"I guess so," she agreed.

"Do you keep it in there to protect it?" Ren asked as they pulled into traffic. Kyoko frowned as she thought about how the purse had once protected _her_ from Ren's overwhelming magic.

"More or less," was all she responded. Ren glanced at her, noticing the sudden reticence in her voice.

"Oh?"

"I started worrying about it more after I showed it to you during the _Dark Moon_ filming," she admitted with a faint flush. Ren missed the reaction, but his mind jumped back to that time easily. He smiled as he remembered her first admittance that she still believed that Corn had been a fairy prince.

"I see," he said quietly. There was a brief pause. "I don't think I ever really thanked you enough for that."

"For what?" Kyoko asked in confusion.

"For everything that you did for me during _Dark Moon_ ," he told her. Kyoko tensed as she wondered if he had guessed her identity as the chicken, but Ren simply continued. "You were very supportive and helpful before my Katsuki test, and I don't think I would have been able to make the character that I did if you hadn't come over the night before and helped me."

"I'm sure you would have-" she tried to downplay his words, but he would not have it.

"No, but thank you for thinking so highly of me. I really was stuck with my Katsuki and I'm glad that you helped me. Both before and after, you only had encouraging words for me, and you honestly believed in me. I didn't realize it at the time, but that was what I needed, more than anything else."

Kyoko was quiet for a moment.

"Really?" Ren nodded.

"Really. I… wasn't used to the idea of people believing in me," he confessed softly, sending Kyoko into a whirl of confusion.

"But- But- But you're Tsuruga Ren!" she exclaimed, trying to convey an idea she was not sure how to express.

"I know," he smiled. "And people have always been impressed with my work. But I think, once I started having trouble, no one really thought that I could do it anymore. They were all making contingency plans and trying to prepare for damage control. Yashiro, Director Ogata, even the president. You were the only one who believed that I could still make a better Katsuki than the original. And I really needed that."

"Why? Didn't you know you could do it?" Ren hesitated.

"I thought I could. It was… a sort of marker for me. It was a kind of role I had never played before and it was a role that had been done by a man I've been trying to surpass since I started acting."

"Your goal is Otou-san?" Ren suppressed a grimace as he realized how much he was telling her.

"It seemed like a good goal to have," he replied as casually as he could.

"No wonder you're so good," Kyoko sighed. "You've got such an amazing goal."

"Well, thank you, but I wasn't doing a very good job of living my dream when I tried to act Katsuki. I thought I was a good enough actor as I was, and it nearly ruined my career." Kyoko regarded this seriously for a moment.

"But… you did it, didn't you? You went and made your Katsuki and _Dark Moon_ surpassed _Tsukigomori_ and… you did it!" Ren chuckled at her insistent enthusiasm.

"We all did it," he corrected her. "But yes, the Katsuki that I ended up acting was part of the project that surpassed the original drama. So I did it, and so did you."

"But it doesn't count for me," Kyoko told him. "My Mio was played by Iizuka-san, and she was part of _Dark Moon_ , so I didn't _beat_ her." Ren sighed, but did not press the point. He knew Kyoko would not believe him and he did not feeling like starting an argument when he was so close to dropping her off.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Ren pensive and Kyoko with a look of intense concentration on her face.

"Tsuruga-san?"

"Hmm?"

"Would you say that discovering your Katsuki was… an important event? In your career?"

Ren considered this, not sure why she was asking.

"I would say yes," Ren told her. "It was probably the most important point in my career yet." _And in my personal life… but that's the last thing you want to hear, isn't it?_

"And you're… proud of it?" They had reached the spot he usually let her out, so he was able to turn and look at her. He searched her face for some kind of clue as to where this was going.

"I'm proud of all of the work that I do," he said. "But I was especially proud of that role, yes." His mouth quirked into a smirk. "Especially since the president said there was no way I could do it," he admitted. Kyoko smiled, but then her face turned thoughtful again. Ren did not mind that she was not leaving. But he was still curious.

"Tsuruga-san, are we…" The last word came out so softly Ren missed it.

"Mogami-san, you're going to have to speak up if you want me to answer your question," he scolded mildly. Kyoko's already pink face flushed darker.

"Are we… friends?" She looked through her eyelashes for the second time that day, but this look had a much larger impact on Ren. It was something between frightened and hopeful and it made his heart stutter over a beat.

Her question so shocked him that he did not respond right away and Kyoko's face lost all hope and she suddenly started for the door.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to say something so conceited! I'll just-"

Ren reached over and grabbed her arm before she could throw herself out of the car, torn between amusement and chagrin.

"Mogami-san, please don't. I didn't say that, and that isn't what I think at all."

"But you were just-"

"I know, and I'm sorry. I was just so surprised I wasn't sure what to say. I didn't realize that you thought we weren't friends."

Kyoko stared at him in shock, and Ren had to admit it was fair. He had lied, after all. He knew very well how foreign the idea of friendship with him was. But since he would rather die than frighten her by telling her how dazzlingly happy she had made him by even considering calling him her friend instead of her senpai, he felt it was fair to stretch the truth.

In the back of his head, he heard Yashiro scolding him for such happiness over such a tiny thing. It was even smaller than insignificant progress, and if Ren was this happy over it, what did that say for his progress so far?

"We're- we're already friends?" Her tiny voice brought Ren back to his car and the girl in front of him.

"Well, usually that is what they call people who've worked together for so long, and who've shared meals, and helped each other with difficult problems, and shared secrets…" As he trailed off he saw her adding a thousand other details to the list he had started, most of them probably involving her familiar scolding of his eating and sleeping habits. A smile grew on her face and she came back to earth suddenly, glowing with pleasure.

"You're right. We are friends!"

This statement, coupled with its tender smile and shining eyes pulled an equally warm and bright response from Ren. A few randomly floating grudge demons found themselves assaulted on all sides and instantly disintegrated. But for once, Kyoko herself was not overwhelmed by the light. In fact, she thought she might like it very much.

But the moment passed as she realized the car was not moving and that she needed to get out so that Ren could head home. He managed to prevent her from apologizing too much and told her to be careful the rest of the way home. She promised and waved cheerful goodbye to him.

As she made her way to her home, her mind was full of intricate plans and a vague notion that she would not be sleeping much the next few days.

* * *

Lory sat at his desk, grinning like a madman as he hung up his phone. Plans seemed to be coming together nicely. He hoped everyone else enjoyed it as much as he did.

* * *

Ren woke up on his birthday and slammed his hand down on his alarm. He had not gotten as much sleep as he had planned on the night before, and the noise was offensive to him. If he could have known that across the city, Kyoko was greeting her alarm with vicious death threats, he might have been amused.

As it was, both of them more or less flopped out of bed and stumbled through their morning routines. Ren was interrupted by a call from his manager telling him he would need to leave ten minutes earlier than he had planned, and Kyoko fumbled around trying to find a large box that she could have sworn she had left on her desk. Ren made it out the door on time and Kyoko found the box just outside her door next to the bag she had packed the night before.

Ren held back a grumble as he tried to figure out what kind of last minute meeting had shown up that was so important he needed to rush to the office before the rest of his work that morning. Yashiro smiled widely as he slipped into the car and greeted his charge with what Ren considered undue enthusiasm.

"You're fifteen minutes early! Excellent, we should make it in plenty of time!"

"Time for what?" Ren demanded as he turned towards LME.

"For your lovely protege to hand you your birthday present," Yashiro told him with a grin. Ren blinked.

"And you couldn't have told me about this yesterday because?"

"Because she called me at three in the morning asking if we would be at the office at all today. And before you ask, when I asked her why she was calling so late she told me she wasn't sure if she was going to finish the gift on time, and I think every other phrase she uttered was something along the lines of 'I'm so sorry.' I'm not sure her brain was completely functioning anymore. She sounded a lot like you when you've been skipping on your sleep to memorize lines."

"Lovely," Ren grumbled, still too tired to summon the full feeling of joy that should have come over him when he realized he was getting a gift from his koh- friend.

He and Yashiro arrived a few minutes before Kyoko and were greeted by the excessively unexcited Kanae. She was civil, but it did not appear that either she or Ren were in the best place for being social, so the three people waited in silence.

At last the group was greeted by the miserable wail of "I'm sorry I'm so laaaaate!" as Kyoko sailed through the door and collapsed at the table with a large box in her hands.

"Mo, calm down," Kanae scolded as Kyoko tried to catch her breath.

"I'm sorr-"

"Good morning, Mogami-san," Ren interrupted. "How are you?"

"Good morning, Tsuruga-san. I think I'm a little tired, but that's probably because I was just running," she admitted. Ren smiled, but figured it had more to due with her three in the morning call to his manager.

"Did you need something?" he asked, knowing that he did not have long before he had to leave.

"Oh, yes. Happy Birthday, Tsuruga-san. I'm sorry that it's so big, but I couldn't make it any smaller," she informed him sheepishly as she handed the package over.

"That isn't a problem. Can I open it now?" The look on her face answered his question. "I'll save it until I get home," he told her. "I imagine it will be safer in the box."

"Yes," she acknowledged. "It really will."

"Thank you for the gift, Mogami-san. I'll look forward to opening it. I'll see you later. Kotonami-san," he bid farewell to the girls and followed his manager out of the room. Yashiro kept sneaking glances at the box and helped Ren by opening the trunk when they got to the car.

"So, are you going to tell me what it is?" Yashiro asked as they slid into the vehicle.

"You mean tomorrow, when I actually know? Probably. Unless I think you would be better off not knowing. Or if I might be better off," he added as he noted the mischievous grin on his manager's face.

"Oh, Ren!" Yashiro pouted.

"Definitely not if it isn't good for me," Ren stated with finality. With a gift from Kyoko, he just could not know.

* * *

Later that night, Kyoko curled up on the floor next to Kanae, sighing happily as her friend finished the dinner Kyoko had cooked.

"What kind of sound was that?" Kanae demanded.

"Moko-san is eating my cooking," Kyoko murmured happily.

"Of course I'm eating your cooking. You cook good food!"

"But you always yell at me when I cook things and say you don't want them," Kyoko pointed out. Kanae grimaced.

"That's because you normally make foods dripping in calories," she informed her friend. "This food is safe. And tasty."

"Oh, I'm glad!" Kyoko smiled. "I thought maybe you were like Tsuruga-san, and you didn't like heavy foods. So I tried to make something lighter. And it worked." A ponderous look came on her face. "You know, you and Tsuruga-san are a lot alike."

"That's ridiculous!" Kanae retorted, jabbing at her last bite of food. Kyoko only giggled.

"No, in a lot of ways you _are_ alike. Maybe that's why you don't get along," she mused. "You're both trying so hard to be the best, you have a hard time liking the other person. It's just the two of you acknowledging a rival!"

Kanae stared at her friend for a moment before bursting out laughing. Kyoko was confused by this reaction, but smiled softly at having been able to please her best friend. In the mean time, LoveMe number two tried to pull herself together as she realized how close Kyoko had come to the truth without having a clue as to the real source of conflict.

When she had at last regained her breath, Kanae looked up and met Kyoko's gaze squarely.

"Something like that, yeah," she told her friend as a wayward chuckle escaped her.

"But you shouldn't worry so much," Kyoko told her. "You and Tsuruga-san can both be at the top at the same time, you know."

"Um, you do realize there is only one spot open at the top, right?" Kyoko shook her head.

"Because Tsuruga-san is a guy and Moko-san is a girl, you can both do it. I guess if you really want to beat the other, that only leaves one space, but since most movies and shows have a female lead _and_ a male lead, you really need two people on top to make them work. It's like how both Moko-san and Tsuruga-san are my friends, but I can't spend time with Tsuruga-san like I do with you. It would be silly to go shopping with him, or go out for ice cream. That's just for Moko-san. Tsuruga-san scolds me when I'm being irresponsible about my work. I need you both. Especially Moko-san, because you're my first female friend. You're special!" Kyoko declared with triumph.

Kanae stared at her for a moment before smiling. She forgot sometimes, just how big Kyoko's heart was. But even as she engaged in playful banter with her friend, she did not let go of the idea that Tsuruga Ren was a threat. Kyoko might have a special place in her heart set away for Kanae, but men complicated things. And that man looked to be a danger to Kyoko. Kanae would protect this girl, because Kyoko was her first best friend, and she was not going to let anything happen to LoveMe Number One.

* * *

Ren somehow managed to open his apartment door while juggling the box in his arms, and he was extremely glad to set it down on the table. It was not heavy, but it was unwieldy. He had no idea how Kyoko had managed to run with the thing. He frowned as he thought about this and hoped she had not hurt herself.

Once he had changed and grabbed a random snack from his fridge, he knelt down at the table and started prying at the box. Inside seemed to be some sort of cubical structure covered by a semi-opaque veil that reached to the bottom of the box. On top of this veil sat a folded note, which Ren placed beside himself before lifting the structure out of the box and setting it down carefully on the tabletop.

He allowed himself a minute to guess what might be hidden beneath the shroud before running out of ideas and lifting the soft fabric. His breath caught as he realized what he was looking at.

So this was what all those questions had been about…

Sitting before Ren was a miniature model of the _Dark Moon_ set from the day that he had performed his Katsuki test. It held all the cast members present on that day as well as the managers, stage hands, and even Lory on his gilded throne, flanked by two of his entourage. Ren had no idea how Kyoko had managed to remember all of these details, but would not have minded if most of them were made up. The sheer intricacy of the project was unreal. The time it must have taken, and in only a few days…

There was Kyoko, watching excitedly as the scene played out. He wondered how she had chosen the look for her own face. There was Yashiro, video camera focused on the stage, wearing gloves to protect the device. There was Momose-san and himself on stage, standing at the piano and playing with laughing faces. Ren turned the model to get a better look at the audience and was shocked to see the look of amusement and pleasure on Lory's face. He did not doubt that Kyoko had remembered it correctly, but it was fantastic to think that the man who had complimented him so blandly had worn a face like that.

The entire scene was mesmerizing and Ren could not help but enjoy staring at it as he discovered incredible new details, including the pattern of his tie and the tiny shards of glass on the floor where the teacup had been dropped.

Eventually he remembered the noted and picked it up. Reading through it carefully, he could not help the smile that came to his face.

_Tsuruga-san,_

_I know you don't normally keep silly little keepsakes, but you said that Katsuki was an important role for your career, and that reminded me of how special my memory of Corn was. When you got me my birthday present, I think you were trying to give me another special memory and help me remember something that I loved. So even though you don't have a use for it, I decided to make you a model of the birth of Katsuki, because this is the only thing that I can do. I hope that you like it, and that you don't think I'm being silly._

_Mogami Kyoko_

Ren had to bite back a laugh as he thought about the actual event that constituted the "birth of Katsuki." The scene depicted by Kyoko's gift was certainly Katsuki's first show in front of the world, but it was not where Katsuki had been born. Katsuki had been born on the floor of Ren's kitchen, in the guise of Ren/Kuon, who, for the first time in his life, had lost his character in the sensation of a girl in his arms.

But Kyoko was not likely to try and ever depict that scene, even in her mind (he wondered if she had burned it out of her memory the way he had burned it into his), and this was a much safer present to have given him.

Ren carried it carefully to his bedroom where he placed it on his dresser. He would need to find a better place for it eventually, but for now he would keep it in here. He placed the note next to it, still smiling like a fool.

It was not very fair of her, but every time Ren determined to give up on Kyoko she did something like this, and would remind Ren that he really could not live without her.

He needed to find some way to let her know, or he was going to go crazy.

* * *

Lory looked over the costumes in front of him and barked some directions at the various workers. His smile grew as he pictured the happy day that was approaching.

He hoped that Ren thanked him for this, though knowing the impetuous brat, Lory was likely to only get a scold. Oh well, it would be great fun.


End file.
